Posted on 10/27/2009 7:35:24 PM PDT by Artemis Webb
NEW ORLEANS – Federal officials plan to ban sales of raw oysters harvested from the Gulf of Mexico unless the shellfish are treated to destroy potentially deadly bacteria — a requirement that opponents say could deprive diners of a delicacy cherished for generations.
The plan has also raised concern among oystermen that they could be pushed out of business.
The Gulf region supplies about two-thirds of U.S. oysters, and some people in the $500 million industry argue that the anti-bacterial procedures are too costly. They insist adequate measures are already being taken to battle germs, including increased refrigeration on oyster boats and warnings posted in restaurants.
About 15 people die each year in the United States from raw oysters infected with Vibrio vulnificus, which typically is found in warm coastal waters between April and October. Most of the deaths occur among people with weak immune systems caused by health problems like liver or kidney disease, cancer, diabetes, or AIDS.
(snip)
"We have one man who's 97 years old, and he comes in here every week and gets his oyster fix, no matter what month it is," said Mark DeFelice, head chef at Pascal's Manale Restaurant in New Orleans. "There comes a time when we need to be responsible. Government doesn't need to be involved in this."
The anti-bacterial process treats oysters with a method similar to pasteurization, using mild heat, freezing temperatures, high pressure and low-dose gamma radiation.
But doing so "kills the taste, the texture," DeFelice said. "For our local connoisseurs, people who've grown up eating oysters all their lives, there's no comparison" between salty raw oysters and the treated kind.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Ban the FDA!!
Nothing like sitting on a stool and eating a couple dozen live oysters. Not recommended it you do have immune system problems, but otherwise just fine. What they are suggesting is that they all need to be cooked..and then served cold. Crazy.
Man and beast has been eating these things for centuries.
Slap ‘em with spinach and cheese and I’ll take my chances as I do every year...
Salted snot...
Lots of folks in Fl, AL,MS,LA and TX will be hurt.
follow the $...
Why is the FDA punishing the ladies? :-)
The wonderful liberal government going after evil fishermen in the gulf.
First the Central Valley in California, now Gulf Coast oysters.
The FDA is destroying our capacity to feed ourselves. This could get ugly. We here in Texas may not roll over like the Californians.
Listening Governor Perry ?
No one I know eats out-of-season oysters anyway. I love the raw, but before October? No way.
I wished several times that night that I would die.
But if people want to eat 'em, that's their business. Folks warn you down their that you may get a bad one.
I believe that's misleading. From looking at these FDA webpages (kudos to the AP for including a link to the main speech), it appears to me that all Gulf oysters sold commercially will have to be so treated:
http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Speeches/ucm187012.htm
http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Speeches/ucm187014.htm
http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Speeches/ucm187015.htm
I will be so happy to see this rotten administration depart Washington.
This action by Obama's FDA is not only going to hurt many producers and restaurants, but this is a culinary disaster: stupid, self-inflicted damage to one of America's great food treasures, consumption of the Gulf oyster.
About eating Oysters:
Small government, free people — Your dad tells you to not eat raw oysters in months without an “r”.
Obama Government, herd animals — FDA regulations, expensive processing procedures, regulatory burdens and expenses placed on small businesses and fishermen, warning signs in restaurants, and basically the end of ‘raw’ oysters.
Change you can believe in!
So when’s your anniversary? I think they say no oysters in a month without an “R”? ;-)_
I have spent many of nights at the Pascal’s Manale Restaurant’s oyster bar, downing oysters and getting ready for BBQ shrimp.
But, try to make it a rule to only eat raw oysters in months that have an “R.”
There are plenty of contaminated oysters waiting to be delivered from CHINA!
If I can’t eat AMERICAN SEAFOOD, I WON’T EAT ANY SEA FOOD. PERIOD!
LOL! It was last month. Just steak and shrimp, then a night out for a hockey game. No oysters. None since that night. {:-0
But I’m sure all those foreign oysters have labels on them saying they’re treated. That makes them totally safe.
I don’t think the Chinese oysters will have the lead and mercury out. But the FDA isn’t worried about that. Just clean American food and the people who make a living getting it.
Soon we will be demonised to eat any meat product. Obama's food czar says so. Got to keep the loonies on the path.
Developed a real taste for both cherry stone clams and oysters and the restaurant keep them packed in ice until an order came in from a table. But you'd be amazed by how many restaurants pre-shuck their shell fish. Never a great idea.
To be really safe one ought to make sure there is an adequate amount of alcohol in your stomach prior to ingesting raw oysters.
A bad oyster or two can kill you or make you so sick that you wish you were dead. However, I love good oysters, but if I will ask to see the oyster tags if I am in a place that I am not 100% certain of the quality and freshness.
As for shucking oysters that will make your right forearm look like Popeye’s.
And working on an oyster lugger, shoveling oysters into sacks for 16 hours a day will make you look like a roided up power hitter.
I love raw oysters but I have to have a few drinks in me before I can face the ugly little things.
LOL, Oh man! That’s bout the funniest post I’ve seen in a long time!
New Orleans doesn’t need another Katrina with this idiocy in the works.Close down The French Quarter and all the restaurants.
You bet.......fall over backwards and spit in my eye but leave my raw oysters ALONE!
Unbelievable. The Obama administration just got done pulling the rug out from under the fishermen in Florida and now they go after the oystermen.
I’d almost suspect an organized campaign is going on to further ruin Florida’s economy.
From the article: "We see more people die each year from peanuts, chicken, E. coli, beef," he said. "It's like singling out a certain section of the food industry."
This is a great point. I just read that 70,000 people get sick from e coli and 60 died from it. IN ONE YEAR! No, there is something else going on here.
Some things in this state are better left alone or ya’
mite wind up an Alligator Turd...
Two days ago my best friend had an allergic reaction to shrimp that likely came from China. She isn't allergic to shrimp. But whatever was in those shrimp is apparently okay with Obama and his minions.
Don’t eat the green ones.
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